Bulls take charge as KSE-100 closes 1,195 points higher

KARACHI: After days of volatile trading, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) made a much-needed recovery on Wednesday and gained over 1,000 points.

The rise was attributed to reports that the government is mulling the establishment of a market support fund in order to stabilise the exchange. Moreover, as per media reports, a positive response is expected from the Financial Action Task Force team, which recently held meetings with the Pakistani delegation in China. The clarity on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme also strengthened the investors’ confidence.

The KSE 100 index benchmark logged in the highest single-day gain for 2019, as it surged by 3.62pc to reach an intraday high of 34,698.56. It closed higher by 1,195.04 points at 34,637.14. The KMI 30 index surged by 2,673.88 points to end at 55,866.34, while the KSE All Share index closed higher by 711.71 points, settling at 25,529.10.

The overall trading volumes increased from 153.45 million in the preceding session to 203.38 million (up by 33pc). The Bank of Punjab (BOP +5.06pc), Worldcall Telecom (WTL +1.25pc) and K-Electric Limited (KEL +8.42pc) were top traded stocks of the day. The scripts had traded 25.08 million shares, 20.15 million shares and 15.75 million shares respectively.

Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF) was up by 4.95pc. The company, in a notification sent to the exchange, announced the commencement of operations from its additional dry process clinker production line. The line, having a grey clinker production capacity of 7,300 tonnes per day, has been added as part of the company’s brownfield expansion at its current site in Iskanderabad.